Introduction

"Eve Ensler’s play, The Vagina Monologues, addresses the issues of sexual violence and disempowerment in a provocative, entertaining manner. The script is based on Ensler’s interviews with over two hundred women about their personal experiences and includes topics such as genital mutilation, incest and rape. Although the play has been well received by audiences in many countries, it has also generated a considerable amount of controversy. The play has spawned a grassroots movement, The V-Day Campaign, which aims to put an end to violence against women and girls in the global context.

The body of this paper is based on our observations and analysis of two performances of The Vagina Monologues in March 2004; one amateur, one professional. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with members of the professional and the amateur casts in order to gain further insight into, and understanding of, the topic. Entertainment-Education (EE) principles and theories have been used as a basis for our assessment of the present and potential roles of the play in addressing the social problems it highlights.

The analysis is particularly relevant to the South African situation in which rape and other symptoms of female sexual disempowerment are widespread. As it has become understood that these factors also play a major role in the spread of HIV/AIDS, addressing the roots of these problems through effective health communication has become even more urgent. As a theater piece with the potential of empowering women in the sexual arena, The Vagina Monologues has not only entertainment value, but also the possibility of being used as a vehicle for social change.

In the body of this paper, the use of live theatre as a vehicle for EE and the way in which social learning theory can be applied to the play, will be explored. A comparative analysis of the two performances of the play will excavate the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. Finally, recommendations on the further use of The Vagina Monologues as an EE intervention will be useful to those who may want to put on performances of the play in future or who may wish to use it in other violence against women campaigns in the South African context."

The contents of the study are as follows:

• Section 1: Background
• Section 2: Live Theatre as a vehicle for Entertainment Education, and in relation to The Vagina Monologues
• Section 3: Social Learning Theory and The Vagina Monologues
• Section 4: A comparative analysis of two performances of The Vagina Monologues
• Section 5: Recommendations and Conclusions.

As a result of conducting a review of the literature and the comparative analysis of the two performances of The Vagina Monologues, the paper states that the play can be used as an effective vehicle for education and social change. The researchers propose that implementation of the following recommendations, based on entertainment-education and health communication principles, would increase the potential impact of the play.

• Formative and summative research: If The Vagina Monologues is to work as an entertainment-education intervention, there should be greater audience research: including formative, process and summative research.
• The continued use of community theatre as a vehicle for the play: In many ways the amateur performance of the play is closer to the definition of an entertainment-education intervention. Thus, it seems appropriate that it be performed in community theatres and work-shopped by the participants, as occurred with the amateur production.
• Linking the play to support services: Informing the audience of support services like help-lines and activist groups can help to ensure that the empowering effects of the play are reinforced.